Binge Listening

People are almost proud of epic TV-show watching sessions, or binge-watching. In the last few years it seems watching Netflix, Hulu or even DVD box sets all night is a far more common an activity than going out. Yes, this does not bode well for the live entertainment industry- not just music, but sports, movies, even restaurants, which all are having a harder time beating the home-based experience.

In music, people have been warning of this day since the radio was invented. Why go out? Musicians went on strike and refused to record. The truth is that the home-based experience is just different from going out. Listening to a vinyl record is a different experience from listening to a CD or a playlist, or your kid practicing. When you go out, your attention is more focused on the event, as it is a 'happening'.

Something I try to do at home is something that jazz musicians have been doing since the first 45s came out. Listen to the canon of great music with the intensity and repetition that people watch their TV shows. Put Bud Powell's "Un Poco Loco" on repeat and listen to it for a half hour. Go through the entire Miles Davis Quintet: Live at the Plugged Nickel sessions. These are things that will shape you as an artist- no less than watching 7 seasons of a prime-time TV show will. In this case, I like to think "You are what you eat."